Artificial intelligence is a growing technological advancement in an increasingly digital world, one that makes a huge number of things possible that weren’t previously. In the coming years, it’ll be hard to find an industry which doesn’t include some form of AI and the events industry is no different.

However, before you jump on the AI bandwagon, it’s important to figure out what aspects of the technology will actually benefit your events and what it will be able to solve. The role of AI is primarily that of a problem-solver, enhancing business processes so that you can make experiences even better for your customers.

Find out some of the ways that you can use AI, in 2018 and beyond, to benefit your events business.

Personalisation and recommendations

When attending a large-scale event, many attendees want to know which of the exhibitors, attendees and products they should prioritise. While previously attendees would fill out a manual form with their interests and hopefully be matched to the appropriate attendees and exhibitors, this was not only often ineffective but also tedious and expensive for the planners of the event.

In comparison, using an AI matchmaking engine can be a lifesaver in these situations. Not only are they able to use and interpret data from social media profiles, such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, so that they can find out the relevant interests of your attendees, they can also learn from the recommendations they have made – attendees can schedule meetings or highlight their disinterest in the recommendations – so that they can improve the experience next time.

Find out more about the potential of AI matchmaking for events by exploring one of the systems on offer – Grip.

Increase communication options

If you’re running an event but getting sidetracked by questions coming from your attendees or guests, you may want to consider something that takes the onus of answering all their queries or doubts out of your hands.

An AI run chatbot could be the solution to your communication problem. Not only can you design and develop a chatbot specifically for your event, chatbots are also tireless and can communicate efficiently with your attendees, making sure they receive the information and answers that they’re looking for.

Since chatbots don’t need an app or a website login to be accessed, your attendees can simply be signposted to from your event webpage or through any email communications. They are also able to personalise conversations through learning from previous interactions.

Improving translation

In previous years, an international event could cause translation issues. However, the development of artificial intelligence could make those problems a thing of the past.

Instead of human translators, a number of companies have been developing artificial intelligence translators which will be able to act as rudimentary translation devices, sometimes even functioning through headphones – such as Google Pixel Buds. While the cultural nuances of translation will mean that more complex translation may still need human translators, this new tool will greatly influence the events industry as it continues to expand its use.

Improve the ease of attending an event

If you’re running a large event with a few thousand attendees, the idea of organising ticket queues and check-in areas may fill you with dread. However, with new developments in AI, long waiting lines and delays could be eradicated, simply by bringing all ticketing out of paper and into data.

Using both AI and biometrics, facial recognition software will be able to speed up the check-in process exponentially since it can authenticate attendees and grant them access to the venue much quicker than a manual check in. While not yet available for the events industry, a number of companies are interested in developing such a system to make attendance much more streamlined.

If you’re looking for a unique, central venue in the heart of London which is suitable for events, both large or small, consider The Brewery. With our IT and audio-visual services, we’ll be happy to help you accommodate any AI technologies you’d like to use for the planning and organising of your event.